Documenti di Didattica
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Documenti di Cultura
In modern architecture, cultural messages have variety cloud of knowledge’ blurring divisions between subject
of conceptual trends such as commercialism, areas and focusing on the society of the future urban
expressionist and iconic. The case of commercialism leisure space.” 3 Additionally, when the architectural
and distinctiveness is evidence in the skyscrapers that design, as a local product, connotes global approach, it
dominate the sky lines of Chicago and New York. becomes a manifestation of contemporary architectural
Notre Dame du Hut Church designed by Le Corbusier designs. As it will be shown in the following section,
in 1954 is an example that has semiotic dimension this approach is not restricted to amalgamate
related to expressionist architecture. It represents conventional designs with fictional and mythological
feeling on the subconscious mind. The expressionistic designs. According to Free Dictionary4, mythical place is
feel was achieved with the irregular set of windows and “a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to
the curved form of the wall and roof. There are other exist in fictional or religious writings”. Contemporary
cases that follow semiotic dimensions but rather with design tends to make the impossible possible. It
iconic forms. For examples in 1959 Frank Lloyd Wright attempts to transfer personal mental image to
designed Guggenheim Museum signifying the rose form, experience one of the following three aspects: the early
in 1960 Eero Saarinen designed J. F. Kennedy Airport traditional environment, the past within the present, or
signifying the soaring birds, and in 1973 Jorn Utzon mental transformation from real life to an imaginative
designed Sydney Opera House signifying the boats sails. world in a philosophical model. There are different
The semiotic dimension of these examples have been categories of architectural design concepts that
extended to the global level. Concept driven modern legitimize the existence of these contemporary
architecture, whether based on iconic, expressionist architectures. When applying such concepts, the
concepts or else, gives beholders the feeling of architect in fact denotes a semiotic label to his design.
enlightenment and wonderful amusement. Additionally, Today, design concepts are responsible for the creation
it has the ability to impact the mental image of the of three noteworthy trends. I. Design preserves the
townscape (Lynch 1960). heritage. II Design embeds new style within a
traditional one, III. Design presents a totally new style.
There are differences between conceptual approach of It is also possible to combine The three types.
ancient architecture and modern architecture. Ancient
architecture mainly denotes believes, power of rulers, I. Present vs. Traditional Environment:
victories, defense, prosperity, luxury, and social status.
On the other hand, 20th century modern movement in The study of significant contemporary architecture,
architecture marked the beginning of the liberation of such as museum, indicates that their essential role is in
the normative and traditional paradigm. The modern the enhancement of the image of the city while, at the
townscape demonstrates the need for democratic built same time, maintaining a certain identity and message
form, that breaks away from the classical design school. to the public. When a design concept brings to
According to Robert Stern, modern architecture existence a traditional and historical style, it is
signifies the concept of modernism. “Modernism, in the considered as an attempt to fantasize life by
most oversimplified term, represents a moralistic experiencing tales from the past, a story after another
application of a superior value to that which is not only about the history of the place, the former users and the
new but also independent of all previous production.” society. Here, users experience conceptual transfer in
(cited in Papadakis and Steele 1991, p. 15). This time and place. We have two examples: one is the
definition legitimizes the application of modern restoration of an existing house and the other is a new
architecture. vernacular style building .
By 1960, there was dissatisfaction with result of 1. Traditional Residence. The house of Marjorie
modern architecture, which led to the evolution of Merriweather Post in Washington, D.C., USA.
post-modernism with its emphasis on both Represent a case of an architectural idiosyncratic
international trends and local or regional architecture. residence where the former users had conspicuous
Contemporary architecture has emerged as a response position in the society. Here the landscape and the
to recent global advancements in the fields of building are cheerful and too valuable to miss (Chung,
technology, digital communication, biology and ethics. 1913). Living in such place is like living in the past.
Contemporary architecture emerges as a new
architectural style that intentionally goes beyond form
2. Neo-Vernacular Architecture, the case of the
to embrace unlimited imaginative design concepts. For
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar designed by the
example, the works of Coop Himmelblau project,
star architect, I. M. Pei. His design concept tends to
‘musée des confluences‘ conceptualized as a “‘crystal
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL UTZON SYMPOSIUM – SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
WHAT WOULD UTZON DO NOW?
Fig. 4. Top and side views of the Art Museum Strongoli. The
surrounding is an open landscape. By Coop Himmelblau, 2013.
the social order of a cluster, balance, In the first example, the student’s design concept came
king’s real life situations harmony from a meteor taking its course towards the earth. She
events/ac
tivities/so Qatar world cup event started the design with a quick 2D sketch then,
cial in 2022, inspired by the rhythm, center translated it to the final composition of 3D. The
aspects pattern of the football
distribution of the cube elements linked with
amusement and
13 % circular, irregularity through two central elements to signify
playgrounds carousel
symmetry, radial
swings meteor and earth. For meteor the arranged cubes
Abstract express the movement in space. According to the
design principles circular
4.3 % student, “I have been trying to express that through the
rocket shape symmetry, radial development of components of meteor in a dense
Science a meteor in space facing
8.7 % curvy linear components at the head with the rest of the body
the earth
relaxed, while the earth was epitomized in the lower
corner through a conglomerate consisting of three
cubes elements as a physical expression of the diversity
SEMIOTICS AS A GUIDE
of the earth and its usual topography.” This design where the second stage has linked both the first
conglomeration came to express the earth to illustrate and the third stages in geometrical balance despite the
the space dimension from the moving as we see it from adoption of two different essential design principles;
space; the observer is close to the meteor. repetition emphasizing the transformation of design
elements and contrast among the three different
In the second example, the student titled her concept, stages .
“The Journey of the Soul after Death.” To embody this
metaphysical concept, she distributed her cubic
elements in central and circular patterns. The final
shape of the design had three clear stages. She named
the first stage “Moments of Death”. At this stage, the
individual interact with his families, friends and those
who are around him unaware of his forthcoming death
because of the preoccupation with worldly matters.
Notes
1
New World Encyclopedia. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Semiotics. Accessed on Feb 2014.
2
In some cases, concept-based design may have double massages, such as the case of ancient fortresses where the insiders feel secure,
protected, and isolation, while outsiders experience fear, confusion, and feeling of lost.
3
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/musee-des-confluences-by-coop-himmelblau-nears-completion-11-26-2013/
4
Accessed on 28 Dec 2013
5
http://www.e-architect.co.uk/italy/castelvecchio.htm
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Castelveccio_Eisenman.jpg
7
The addition or extension of an original museum is a sensitive issue. History must be unaltered. Therefore searching for the possibility
to distinguish the original building from any addition become a trend. Architects developed three methods: 1. The use of the same
architectural style and construction materials of the original building but rather in a minimal or abstractive form; 2. The use of light
structure that stand in contrast with the original building. 3. The use of a striking different design as the case of Royal Ontario Museum.
8
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/modern-architecture-art
9
See also Daniel-Libeskind, Zhang Zhidong and Modern Industrial Museum and the extension of Denver Art Museum Frederic Hamilton
Building, and Musee des Confluences by Coop Himmelblau. http://archinect.com/forum/thread/67365500/how-does-one-come-up-with-
architectural-concepts and http://www.coop-himmelblau.at/architecture/projects/art-museum-strongoli
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